Improvement in lifting apparatus



CHARLES H. DOUGLAS.

Improvement in Lifting Apparatus.

NO. 115,942. Patented lunel3,187l.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LIAM A. ENGLISH,

OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN LlFTlNG APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,942, dated June13,-1871.

I, CHARLES H. DOUGLAS, of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and Stateof Connecticut, have invented an Improved Lifting Apparatus, of whichthe following is a specification:

Nature and Objects of the Invention.

This invention is designed for the use of invalids for their treatmentunder the process or method commonly known as the liftingcure andconsists mainly of a low table up on which the invalid stands, and withdevices so arranged under and about it that the invalid can have theamount or weight he would lift indicated and determined beforehand.

Desm' iption of the Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the complete apparatus. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same, with the side of one of the legs removed for thepurpose of showing its interior construction. Fig.3 is a detached viewof the central and important part of the machinery for indicating anddetermining the weight to be lifted.

General Description.

The letter a indicates the wooden table upon which the lifter stands,supported on three legs, I) b b. Down through the center of the tableruns the liftingrod c, the upper end of which fits into the bottom ofthe hollow tube d, and fastens therein by means of the pin e driventhrough both rod and tube. Into the top tube slides the rod f, whichbeing about as long as the tube and pierced with numerous holes, can beadjusted in length to the stature of the lifter. The pin 9 serves thesame purpose at the top of the tube as the pin 6 at the bottom. On thetop of the rodf is fastened, in such fashion that it is free to swingaround horizontally, the cross-bar It, to the ends of which are fastenedthe lifting-handles 17 i, which are also free to turn around. The lifterstraddles the crossbar when using the apparatus. The bottom or foot ofthe rod 0 is fastened by joints to the three springs corresponding tothe three legs. Two of them,jj,

are seen in Fig. 2. These springs run out, and

are jointed to the axis of the pulley k at their further extremity. Tothe top of the springs are fastened the straight rods 1, which merelytouch up against the pulleys m, which are hung in forks n, which projectdown from nuts 0, which run on the screw-rods s, which, at their outerends, turn in bearings 19, and at their inner ends turn in a cylindricalbearing, g, on the rod 0, loose thereon, and held up in place by a smalltripod of metal, through the center of which runs the rod 0, and itsthree legs are fastened to the bottom of the table a, the legs runningup to the same between the bevel-gear m x w. The bearing; is held downfrom the top by the bevel-gear z, which rests down upon it, and isitself held down by a pin running through the rod 0 just above it. Onthe upper surface of the bevel-gear 2, which is loose upon the rod 0, isa handle, 10, whereby to turn it, and by tnrnin g it the bevel-gears as:c x, and with them their respective screwrods 8, are turned, thusmoving the nuts 0 out or in, as desired.

Now, when a person takes hold of the bandles to lift, his strength willfirst be exerted on the springs j, and when these are pulled up againstthe rods 1 he will then commence to lift the weight of his own body.Now, it is plain that the nearer the nuts 0 are to the bearings 19 theless the force necessary to effect this, and vice versa, so that theweight to be lifted can be readily determined beforehand. On the top ofone or more of the nuts 0 are pointers 0', moving in slots in the scalest t 1, so graduated as to show at what point the pointers must rest inorder that the lifter may lift but a certain specific weight.

Claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the rod 0, bevelgear z,bevel-gears w a: av, screw-rods s s s, and nuts 0 o 0, the wholeconstructed, arranged, and operated substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

2. The combination of the rod 0, springs j j j, rods 1 l l, pulleys m mm, forked nuts 0 o 0, screw-rods s s 8, gears a: a: .r, and bevel-gearz, the whole constructed, arranged, and operfied in the precedingclauses with the table a,

ated substantially as and for the purpose set legs b b b, and scales t tt, the whole conforth.

3.'Tl1e combination of the rod 0, tube d, rod structed, arrangedmndoperated substantially f, swiveled crossbar and handles h i i, the asand for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES H. DOUGLAS.

springs j j, and pulleys m m, the whole constructed, arranged, andoperated substantial] y Witnesses:

as and for the purpose set forth. WM. E. SmoNDs, 4. The combination ofall the parts spcci- GEORGE G. SILL.

